Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet someone in person whom I've been a fan for a long time. Ryan Neuhofel, DO, MPH, is a Family Physician in Lawrence, Kansas. He is opened NeuCare Family Medicine two years ago using the model of patient care called "Direct Primary Care." In this model, they do not utilize traditional insurance, and patients pay a monthly subscription fee for their medical care.
In the interview above, Dr. Neu reflects on his two years in practice using this innovative model of patient care. One of the main themes of our chat is something that I've heard other Direct Care Physicians say as well. When these physicians open their practices, they spend a majority of their time making the case why Direct Care is a better model, and now the questions he gets from potential patients is more how Direct Care works. You'll hear that in this clip below from the first ever Direct Primary Care Summit a few months ago...
Something else has really struck me from talking with Dr. Neu last night, and talking with other Direct Primary Care physicians in the past. They are exceedingly happy about this career choice that they made. Yes, trying to convince patients and employers about a paradigm shift like this is very difficult. Yes, it is very challenging not only building a practice from scratch but also building it with an innovative model of care. But, these physicians are satisfied that they are really making a difference now, and this is the reason they went to medical school.
Finally, another physician I've known for a while celebrated an anniversary this week. Our pal Dr. Rob celebrated One Year after opening his Direct Primary Care practice which has the tagline "Old Fashioned Health Care Made New." It's been fun following his success. In the player below, you'll hear our interview a few months before he opened his practice. (You can also download the audio podcast here) Hopefully, I'll be able to do a follow-up interview to reflect upon the past year and see what he thinks about the future....